Hawaiʻi County has named Stephen Pause Director of the Department of Public Works (DPW).

Mr. Pause has served as Acting Director for DPW for the past two months, and before that, in the role of Deputy Director since May 2021.  His previous employment for the County includes working in an engineering role for the Department of Environmental Management (DEM).

Mr. Pause brings a wealth of engineering, project, and senior management experience from over 35 years of work with engineering firms and in corporate positions.  He spent over 17 years in a senior project management role for BP Oil, including participating in several emergency response events.  Before relocating to the Island, Mr. Pause was the Director of Capital Projects for eight years for Cleveland Cliffs, a prominent US iron ore mining and steel company.  In this role, he was responsible for planning, overseeing, and delivering significant maintenance and capital projects with values ranging between $10 million to $1 billion.

Mr. Pause has volunteered in several past roles in town government, including a Zoning Commission in Ohio, a Wetlands Commission, and working with a Board of Health in Massachusetts.

Mr. Pause holds BS and MS degrees from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and is a licensed professional engineer (Civil) in the State of Hawaiʻi.

“I am honored to assume the role of Director for DPW,” stated Mr. Pause.  “I look forward to the opportunity to lead a talented team that is tasked with improving and maintaining County infrastructure and seeing that minimum design and construction requirements are followed to ensure safe and resilient structures.

Mr. Pause listed as his highest priority to continue the ongoing effort of the Building Division to improve the permitting process using the EPIC system.  Additionally, he listed attracting and retaining talent into the DPW organization and improving lines of communication with the public and all project stakeholders.